Influence of B2O3 on Spectroscopic Properties of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ Co-Doped Tungsten-Tellurite Glasses

A series of novel Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped （85- x ） TeO2-15WO3-xB2O3 （TWB;x=2%,5%,8%（mole fraction） ） glasses were prepared. Influence of B203 on the spectroscopic properties of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped tungsten-tellurite glasses were investigated. It is found that the intensity of 1.5μm fluorescence, lifetime of the ^4I13/2 level and upconversion fluorescence all decrease with the increase of B2O3 content. The product of full width at half maximum （FWHM） and stimulated emission cross-section （σe^peak） of Er^3＋ ：^4I13/2→^4I15/2 transition has an optimum when B203 is 5% （mole fraction）. The emission spectra of Er^3＋ ： ^4I13/2→^4I15/2 transition was analyzed using peak-fit routine, and an equivalent four-level system was proposed to estimate the stark splitting for the 411512 and ^4I13/2 levels of Er^3＋ ions in TWB glasses at room temperature.     

Spectroscopic Properties of Nd^3＋-Doped Tellurite Glasses

Spectroscopic Properties of Nd~(3 )-Doped Tellurite Glasses     

Spectroscopic Properties and Judd-Ofelt Theory Analysis of Er^3＋-Doped Heavy Metal Oxyfluoride Silicate Glass

Er^3 -doped heavy metal oxyfluoride silicate glass was fabricated and characterized, and the absorption spectrum and fluorescence spectrum of the glass were studied. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Ωt(t=2, 4, 6), spontaneous transition probability, fluorescence branching ratio and radiative lifetime of each energy levels for Er^3 were calculated by Judd-Ofelt theory, and stimulated emission cross-section of ^4I13/2→^4I15/2 transition was calculated by McCumber theory. The results show that fluorescence full width at half maximum and stimulated emission cross-section of Er^3 -doped heavy metal oxyfluoride silicate glass are broad and large, respectively. Compared with other host glasses, the gain bandwidth property of Er^3 -doped heavy metal oxyfluoride silicate glass is close to those of tellurite and bismuth glasses, and has advantage over those of silicate, phosphate and germante glasses.     

Investigation on Structures and Properties of Yb3＋-Doped Laser Glasses

The Yb3^＋ -doped silicate, phosphate and borophosphate laser glasses were prepared by means of conventional melt quenching technology. The physical and spectral properties of the glasses were investigated. The results show that, due to the existence of OH^-, the fluorescence lifetime of phosphate glass is shorter than that of silicate glass, so silicate glass has better spectral properties than phosphate glass. Silicate glass has better mechanical and thermal properties than phosphate glass, but with the addition of B2O3, mechanical and thermal properties of phosphate glass are improved greatly without fluorescence quenching effect. This kind of borophosphate glass can be used in high average power solid state lasers.     

Spectroscopic Properties and Effect of Radiation Trapping of a New Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ Co-Doped Tellurite-Silicate Glasses

A new serials of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ co-doped tellurite-silicate glasses were prepared by the technique of high-temperature mehing. The thermal stability, absorption spectra, emission spectra and upconversion spectra were measured and investigated. It is found that these kinds of glasses have good thermal stability, broad FWHM and large stimulated emission cross-section. The three upconversion emission at 525, 546, 658 nm, corresponding to the ^2H11/2→^4Ⅰ15/2, ^4S3/2→4^Ⅰ15/2 and ^F9/2→^4Ⅰ15/2 transitions of Dr^3＋ ions,     

Fabrication and gain performance of Er^3＋/Yb^3＋-codoped tellurite glass fiber

Er^3＋/Yb^3＋-codoped TeO2-ZnO-BaO-La2O3 tellurite glass fiber was fabricated by rotation and rod-in-tube technologies. The thermal stability and optical refractive index of the core and cladding glasses were determined by DTA and optical coupler, respectively. The average background loss of tellurite glass fiber was 1.8 dB/m at 1310 nm. Optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscope （FESEM） were used to study structural characteristics of preforms and optical fibers. The main loss of tellurite glass fiber could be attributed to scatter centre due to core-cladding interface defects. The amplifier performance of tellurite glass fiber was investigated by pumping with 980 nm laser diode （LD）. The gain coefficient and maximum signal gain were 0.21 dB/mW and 10 dB, respectively, for a pumping power of 120 mW. Gains exceeding 5 dB were obtained over 30 nm bandwidth from 1535 to 1565 nm. The minimum noise figure was 4.8 dB at 1557 nm.     

Optical Spectroscopy of Er^3＋ and Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ Co-doped Bi2O3-GeO2-B2O3-ZnO Glasses

The （60 - x）Bi2O3 - xGeO2-30B2O3-10ZnO （x = 5, 10, 20, 30 molar percent） glasses doped with Er^3＋ and Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ were fabricated using the melting method. The thermal stability of the glasses was studied with their DTA curves. The results show that the difference between the glass transition temperature and the crystallization onset temperature increases with the increase of GeO2 content, indicating that the thermal stability of the glass has become better. The absorption spectra were recorded and the stimulated emission cross sections were calculated using the McCumber theory. The Ω2, O4, and Ω6 parameters,the transition probability, the radiative lifetime, and the fluorescence branch ratio of Er^3＋ for optical transition were calculated from their absorption spectra in terms of reduced matrix U^（t）（λ = 2, 4, 6） character for optical transitions. The infrared emission of Er^3＋ was measured upon excitation with 970 nm light and the full width at half-maximum （FWHM） was estimated from the emission spectra. The pumping efficiency and the intensity of the emission at the 1.54 μm band of Er^3＋ were enhanced considerably by co-doping Yb^3＋ .     

Spectroscopic Properties of Nd^3＋ -Doped High Silica Glass Prepared by Sintering Porous Glass

A new kind of Nd^3＋-doped high silica glass （SiO2 〉 96% （mass fraction）） was obtained by sintering porous glass impregnated with Nd^3 ＋ ions. The absorption and luminescence properties of high silica glass doped with different Nd^3 ＋ concentrations were studied. The intensity parameters Ωt （t = 2, 4, 6）, spontaneous emission probability, fluorescence lifetime, radiative quantum efficiency, fluorescence branching ratio, and stimulated emission cross section were calculated using the Judd-Ofelt theory. The optimal Nd^3＋ concentration in high silica glass was 0.27% （mole fraction） because of its high quantum efficiency and emission intensity. By comparing the spectroscopic parameters with other Nd^3 ＋- doped oxide glasses and commercial silicate glasses, the Nd^3 ＋ -doped high silica glasses are likely to be a promising material used for high power and high repetition rate lasers.     

Investigation on energy transfer from Er^3＋ to Nd^3＋ in tellurite glass

A study of energy transfer of Er^3＋/Nd^3＋ codoped tellurite glasses was presented. By Nd^3＋ co-doping, both the Er^3＋ green emission corresponding to the Er^3＋： （^4S3/2, ^2H11/2）→^4I15/2 transitions and the red emission corresponding to the Er^3＋： ^4F9/2→^4I15/2 transitions were quenched. The energy transfer mechanism between Er^3＋ and Nd^3＋ was discussed based on their energy level characteristics. The interaction parameters, CO-A, for the energy transfer processes from Er^3＋ to Nd^3＋ in tellurites glass were calculated. Finally, the resonant transfer Er^3＋： ^4I9/2→Nd^3＋： （^4F5/2, ^2H9/2） was proposed to be the most probable microscopic process to occur in contrast with the other processes.     

Luminescence of Er^3＋ in Oxyfluoride Transparent Glass-Ceramics

Erbium doped silicate, germanate, and tellurium-germanate oxyfluoride glasses were prepared in a bulk form. Through appropriate heat treatment of the as-prepared glasses, transparent glass-ceramics (TGCs) were obtained with the formation of β-PbF2∶Er3 nanocrystals in the glass matrix were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Well-defined diffraction peaks were observed in the samples after heat-treatment. The average crystal diameter of these precipitated crystals from full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the diffraction peak was estimated to be between 8 and 13 nm. Optical absorption, photoluminescence, and upconversion luminescence were measured on as-prepared glass and glass-ceramics. Luminescence spectra in the TGC samples revealed well-resolved, sharp stark-splitting peaks, which indicates that a majority of Er3 ions has been incorporated into the crystalline phase of the nanocrystals. The intensity of the visible and near infrared luminescence mostly increases in TSG compared to that in the as-prepared glass. In 1.53 μm absorption and emission bands, the maximum absorption peak is blue-shifted from 1531 to 1507 nm, whereas the maximum emission peak is red-shifted from 1535 to 1543 nm in TGC, as compared with that in glass. The bandwidth at half-maximum (BWHM) of the emission band is significantly broader in TGC than in glass, which is beneficial to the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). Upconversion luminescence was measured using 800 nm near-infrared light excitation. Drastically increased upconversion luminescence was observed from the TGC as compared to that from their corresponding as-prepared glasses. In addition to a strong green emission centered at 545 nm because of 4S3/2→4I15/2 transition and a weaker red emission centered at 662 nm because of 4F9/2→4I15/2 transition, generally seen from the Er3 doped glasses, two violet emissions centered at 410 nm because of 2H9/2→4I15/2 transition and centered at 379 nm because of 4G11/2→4I15/2 transition were also observed from the TGC. The increased luminescence was attributed to the decreased effective phonon energy and the increased energy transfer between the excited ions when Er3 ions were incorporated into the precipitated β-PbF2 nanocrystals. The results indicated two attractive spectroscopic properties of the Er3 doped TGC samples, compared to glass samples, namely a reduced multiphonon decay rate and a reduced inhomogeneous broadening. In addition, these oxyfluoride TGC materials were robust, easy and flexibile to process, and possible to be fabricated in the fiber form for device applications.     

Study on Thermal Stability and Spectroscopic Properties of Nd3+ -Doped Phosphate Laser Glasses

Fluorescence spectra, absorption spectra and thermal stability properties of Nd3 -doped phosphate laser glasses were tested in this work. We calculated spectroscopic parameters of Nd3 -doped phosphate laser glasses according to their absorption spectrum. Measuring and calculating linear thermal expansion coefficient, and analysising thermal stability of glasses show that this kind of Nd3 -doped phosphate laser glasses has thermal expansion coefficient α = 38.75× 10 -7/℃ and optimal spectroscopic properties which extend application range of Nd 3-doped phosphate laser glasses.     

Preparation and Optical Properties of Er^3＋-Doped Gadolinium Borosilicate Glasses

Er3 -doped Gd2 O3 -SiO2 -B2 O3 -Na2O glasses were prepared, and formation range of glass of Gd2 O3 -SiO2 -B2O3 system was experimentally obtained. It is found that the glass phase can be formed only when the content of SiO2 is 0～50%(molar fraction), Gd2O3 is 0～30%(molar fraction) and B2 O3 is above 20%(molar fraction) in this glass system. The glass can also be obtained but becomes translucent at the contents of 60%(molar fraction) SiO2 and 30% Gd2O3 , or at the contents of 60%(molar fraction) SiO2 and 30%(molar fraction) B2O3. There is no glass phase formed in other glass components. Glass forming ability for Gd2O3 content of 10%, was characterized by the value of β, the parameter of crystallization tendency, which is 0.32～1.76, obtained from the differential thermal analysis. The absorption and emission cross section, the J-O parameters Ωt(2,4,6) and radiative transition probabilities were calculated by using the theory of McCumber and Judd-Ofelt. The emission properties at 1.5 μm of the samples are discussed with the product of full width at half maximum and stimulated emission cross section. It can be seen that the value of the FWHM×σepeak product in the prepared glass is more than those of germanate, silicate and phosphate glasses. Furthermore, the maximum value of the product among these glasses reported in this work is close to that of oxyfluoride silicate glass. Therefore, the Er3 -doped gadolinium borosilicate glass in this paper is a candidate for broadband erbium doped fiber amplifiers.     

Intense upconversion luminescence of Er3+/Yb3+ codoped oxyfluoride borosilicate glass ceramics containing Ba2GdF7 nanocrystals

Er3+/Yb3+-codoped transparent oxyfluoride borosilicate glass ceramics containing Ba2GdF7 nanocrystals were prepared and spectroscopic properties of rare earth ions were investigated.Fluoride nanocrystals Ba2GdF7 were successfully precipitated in glass matrix,which was confirmed by X-ray diffraction(XRD)and transmission electron microscopy(TEM)results.In comparison with the as-made precursor,significant enhancement ofupconversion luminescence was observed in the Er3+/Yb3+codoped oxyfluoride glass ceramics,which may be due to the variation of coordination environment around Er3+and Yb3+ions after crystallization.The transition mechanisms of the green and red upconversion luminescence were ascribed to a two-photon process,and that of the blue upconversion luminescence was a three-photon process.     

Infrared-to-Visible Frequency up-Conversion in Trivalent Erbium Ions Doped Fluoride Glasses （ZnF2-AlF3-PbF2-LiF）

High-efficiency frequency up-conversion in trivalent erbium ion doped new fluoride glass matrix (ZnF2-A1F3-PbF2-LiF) was investigated. Under 950 nm laser-diode excitation, the glasses gave very intense green, weak red and violet emissions. The up-conversion mechanism is discussed. In addition, the infrared transmittance spectrum, the Raman spectrum and the lifetime of the trivalent erbium states in the samples were measured. The results illustrate the large potential of these new glasses for photonic applications.     

Spectroscopic investigations on Er3+/Yb3+-doped oxyfluoride glass ceramics containing YOF nanocrystals

Spectroscopic properties of Er3+/Yb3+-doped transparent oxyfluoride borosilicate glass ceramics containing YOF nanocrystals were systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the formation of YOF nanocrystals in the glassy matrix. Based on the Judd-Ofelt theory, the intensity parameters Ωi (i=2, 4, 6), spontaneous emission probability, radiative lifetime, radiative quantum efficiency and the effective emission bandwidth were investigated. The upconversion luminescence intensity of Er3+ ions in the glass ceramics increased significantly with the increasing crystallization temperature. The transition mechanisms of the green and red upconversion luminescence were ascribed to a two-photon process, and the blue upconversion luminescence was a three-photon absorption process.